Abstract: We propose a new algorithm for random-access evaluation of diffusion curve images (DCIs) using the fast multipole method. Unlike all previous methods, our algorithm achieves real-time performance for rasterization and texture-mapping DCIs of up to millions of curves. After precomputation, computing the color at a single pixel takes nearly constant time. We also incorporate Gaussian radial basis functions into our fast multipole representation using the fast Gauss transform. The fast multipole representation is not only a data structure for fast color evaluation, but also a framework for vector graphics analogues of bitmap editing operations. We exhibit this capability by devising new tools for fast diffusion curve Poisson cloning and composition with masks.